This has been much expected since oneworld member LAN (with subsidiaries throughout South America) merged with Brazilian carrier and Star Alliance member TAM. The two airlines have separate corporate entities under the banner LATAM but were going to be forced to make a decision, and all signs have pointed to choosing oneworld over Star Alliance. That decision is now official. TAM will leave the Star Alliance in the second quarter of 2014, with an immediate entry into oneworld upon departure from Star. LAN Colombia — not currently a part of oneworld — will join in the fourth quarter of 2013. That positions oneworld for quite the fight against Star’s AviancaTACA. (Chile’s LAN has been a member of oneworld since 2000 and LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador and LAN Peru are current affiliate members.) Oneworld has made…
Wyndham Introduces “Gold Status” 1 Free Night Every 20 Paid Nights
Wyndham has gotten quite a bit of heat for revamping their award chart but doesn’t seem to have done much to promote a new feature of the program: one free night for every 20 eligible nights in a calendar year on top of regular points earned. After 20 nights in a calendar year you receive points based on the average spend during your paid nights: You can earn these bonus points up to three times per year, and the points from the bonus can be combined with your regular Wyndham Rewards points for a free night stay. But these bonus points are tracked separately and expire if unused after four months. For most this will amount to 300 – 500 bonus points per night for those staying 20 nights in a year. Of course the…
Feet on the Bulkhead in First Class?
I don’t like the bulkhead in domestic first class, and especially the bulkhead window, it tends to be pretty claustrophobic and will often prefer the bulkhead in coach, an economy plus style coach aisle, or an emergency exit row. So I don’t know that I think it’s fair to beat up on the person who gets into the first class cabin last and is stuck in the bulkhead. They don’t get to keep their personal items at their feet for takeoff or landing, either. And I suppose it’s a small miracle that I should be thankful for that the guy in front of me on Sunday’s transcon was at least wearing shoes when he had his feet up high against the bulkhead. I’ve been sitting up front when people in bare feet are doing that.…
Priority Club’s Big Facebook Lie: You Will Not Get This Suite on Points
Priority Club posted on their Facebook page that it’s so tough to give up your incredible Priority Club points, except when redemption options are this good… Except: Priority Club does not offer any way to redeem you points for suites. Only standard rooms are offered by the program. That’s in stark contrast to Starwood, Hyatt, Marriott, and Hilton which all make premium rooms available for additional points. Priority Club does not honor elite upgrades on points stays. They’re also the only major chain to officially treat award stays as less rewarding than paid stays. Your ‘reward’ for all of your loyalty is the opportunity to redeem for the lowest category room and to be stuck there. In practice the Intercontinental Times Sqaure does upgrade Royal Ambassador members on points stays although they provide a letter…
September Frequent Traveler University Dates Announced!
We’re ready to announce initial details of this fall’s Frequent Traveler University. April’s Northern Virginia event is already a sell out with expected attendance of 650 people — the largest frequent flyer event ever. We’ve already seen ticket scalping of the event, with posted offers of $200+ (!!). Before anyone cashes in all of their Amex and Chase points for a black market ticket to April’s fTU, we wanted to make folks aware of the next opportunity to attend the frequent flyer event of the season.. It will be held at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, September 27-29. You’ll hear from speakers like Lucky of One Mile at a Time and Brian Kelly a.k.a. The Points Guy, as well as Mommy Points and Randy Petersen (and me as well). Tickets are now available for purchase.…
Batter Up! Terrorists Threw a Pitch, TSA Admits They Whiffed
TSA Will Permit Knives, Golf Clubs on U.S. Planes. Implicit admissions their bans did nothing to enhance safety. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration will let people carry small pocketknives onto passenger planes for the first time since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, along with golf clubs, hockey sticks and plastic Wiffle Ball-style bats. The agency will permit knives with retractable blades shorter than 6 centimeters (2.36 inches) and narrower than 1/2 inch, TSA Administrator John Pistole said today at an aviation security conference in Brooklyn. The change, to conform with international rules, takes effect April 25. Apparently wiffle ball bats remain dangerous tools used by terrorists for the next 7 weeks. But terrorists will no longer be using them after that. Passengers will also be allowed to board flights with some other items that are…
The Dust Settles: Where Are We Left in the Aftermath of the Hotel Devaluation Bloodbath?
Joe Brancatelli has a good summary piece explaining where we are now after most of the major chains have taken a chainsaw to their award charts. While I’ve done deep dives like spreadsheets to tease out which hotel programs remain most rewarding for free nights, Joe’s approach is far more accessible to the casual reader. After Marriott, Priority Club and especially Wyndham and Hilton has devalued (and to a lesser extent Starwood, as part of their usual annual adjustments), Joe explains “There’s a certain feeling that the power has shifted” from frequent travelers to the lodging industry, one high-level hotel executive told me earlier this month. “Nightly rates are up, demand is up and we also offer more hotels in more segments in more places around the world than ever before.” Translation: hotels think they…
The Future of Airfare Pricing – And Why It Scares the New York Times
The New York Times is scared about airlines maybe, possibly, potentially kind of customizing airfare pricing displays in the future. Airlines could soon start offering customized fares to travelers based on how regularly they fly, where they live and the kind of trip they are taking. … For instance, an airline might offer a package that includes free checked baggage, an aisle seat and a 10 percent discount to frequent fliers. And customers would be able to compare competing bundles from different airlines. They also say customers will still have the option of shopping anonymously for basic fares if they choose not to provide any information about themselves. But this is scary because if the airlines know more about you they might think you’re willing to pay more, and present you with higher prices And…
Bits ‘n Pieces for March 5, 2013
News and notes from around the interweb: Lucky runs down the new Virgin America-Singapore Airlines partnership. The best opportunity so far is for occasional Virgin America flyers to credit cheap tickets to Singapore, since Singapore awards points based on miles flown and Virgin America based on ticket cost. We don’t yet know what sort of award inventory Virgin America will have access to on Singapore, and the answer to that question could be useful (since Singapore gives their own members substantially more premium cabin availability than they give to Star Alliance partners). Executive Travel profiles me on the value of miles and how to make the most out of them. Loyalty Lobby highlights Accor’s 40% off Asia Pacific sale for stays from March 27 through June 30. USA Today realizes that Delta has the worst…
500 Free Virgin America Points
Like Virgin America on Facebook and enter to win 2 Singapore Airlines (coach) tickets and you’ll receive 500 Elevate points. They’re excited about the partnership they have with Singapore Airlines, and if that means they’re giving away free points I suppose I’m at least mildly enthursiastic, too. (HT: New Girl in the Air)
